2029 Player Rankings Update: Stock-Risers

To be a, “Stock-Riser”, means a few things depending on how you look at it but the most important factor in my opinion is that the prospect is continuously putting in meaningful work in their off-time and that work is translating to the floor in real game-time.   In this piece, we cover five individuals out of this 2029 Class in Iowa that have embodied what it means to be a Stock-Riser these past few months.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    Love Smith made the most of her Freshman season at Southeast Polk and now she is onto others things. This Spring she will be competing with the MN Metro Stars (Starks) team, showing her worth on the road every chance she gets. This program is one that is known for a number of reasons but mainly because they play some great team basketball as a whole within all of their age groups. Love Smith is a fast twitch PG, that can control the pace of play within a game. She is a pretty efficient scorer of the rock while also being a sound defender on that side of the ball. This Fall Love Smith will transfer and compete for DSM Lincoln High School. She should come in as one of their best overall prospects so I can't wait to see how she makes do with that change of scenery within a new system. In this 2029 Class Update, Love Smith moves into the Top 15 at #13.     If you are looking at the combination of production, size, and skill than [player_tooltip player_id='1202933' first='Albany' last='Reinke'] of Spirit Lake put together one of the best seasons throughout the state as a whole this past Winter for a player out of the 2029 Class. Reinke's mixture of size and skill is just too much for the competition she is competing against right now. When she is on the road with her [program_tooltip program_id='713071' first='Play4Him' last='Academy'] team she has more of a challenge but either way, she usually puts in good work and produces great numbers to follow that because her size and physicality is too much. If she ever gets matched up with someone bigger, she also has the athletic ability to step out and make them defend away from the basket out on an island. This usually leads to a lot of trouble for their opponents. We are looking for a big Spring out of Reinke. If she can show her dominance on the road like she did this past few months, then her team is going to win A LOT of games because they have several other talented prospects to pair along with this group.     Keller was a vital part this Winter to CCA and their success as a whole. She came onto the Varsity floor and she stepped up right away as a valid third-option on the offensive side of the ball. She made great choices all season long when the ball was in her possession and she made several open shots when those opportunities presented themselves. She hit consistently from the midrange off the bounce and she was deadly from three point range in the corner off the catch. CCA loses most of their production from year's past this upcoming season so it's going to be up to Keller and [player_tooltip player_id='1214538' first='Zella' last='Evans'] to take control of the program as Sophomores. A tough task but something that is possible with the type of work that both of those prospects puts in during their off-time so we will have to watch it all play out. As for now though, Keller comes in at #16 in this Update and as the #1 SG out of the 2029 Class at this time.     Whenever you have a player on the women's side over 5'10 and they are athletic with the ability to pass, then you have someone that is not only going to be a known producer on the Varsity floor during High School but they will also have a chance for their game to translate to the collegiate level at the end of the day. That is what we have here with [player_tooltip player_id='1583044' first='Sophie' last='Bird'] of Grand View Christian. Bird is listed as a CG but with how well she sets up everyone else, she could move over to the PG spot and facilitate if need be within her team's offense. She is a stable rebounder on both sides of the ball, she defends well, and she leads by example. When you take those three things and pair them with her size, ability, and knowledge of the game - it makes sense as to why she killed it as a Freshman this last few months. She finished off her year averaging 12.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 5.6 APG, while only turning the ball over once per contest. That ranks her as one of the highest assist-to-turnover ratio players throughout the entire state of Iowa, no matter the age or Class level. Which is very impressive. Now she just needs to build on that foundation moving into this Spring!     Gilbert High School is in good hands over their next few years with the guard play they are bringing to the Varsity floor. We have known about their PG #1 [player_tooltip player_id='833953' first='Callie' last='Hales'] for awhile now as being a future college baller but someone else to keep an eye on, who made strides this Winter as a competitor is PG/SG - [player_tooltip player_id='1204333' first='Lucy' last='Terrones']. Terrones stands at 5'6 and she makes plays happen. She is versatile in the aspects of being able to play the 1, 2, or 3 coming down the floor so she is a perfect prospect to pair with Hales as they can work in tandem coming down the court. She isn't the type that needs the ball in her possession for long periods of time to make things happen. She knows to accept the pass and rotate the rock whenever they are running their motion and she never sticks in one place for too long during a possession. There is a lot to like out of Terrones and her game right now. If she continues to build on that, who knows where it might take her on her basketball journey.

To be a, “Stock-Riser”, means a few things depending on how you look at it but the most important factor in my opinion is that the prospect is continuously putting in meaningful work in their off-time and that work is translating to the floor in real game-time.